Obama Vows to Act on Immigration without Congress

FOXNEWS – President Obama renewed his call for immigration legislation at an Independence Day citizenship ceremony for service members, but once again signaled he would take action on his own if Congress doesn’t pass a bill.

“I’m going to keep doing everything I can do to keep making our immigration system smarter and more efficient,” Obama said.

The president spoke at a White House naturalization ceremony on Friday for members of the U.S. military and their spouses. He touched on the hot-button immigration debate after, days earlier, vowing to proceed with executive actions in the absence of congressional legislation.

Republicans openly voiced concern that the decision could exacerbate problems with the current immigration system, not the least of which is a surge of illegal immigrant minors streaming across the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas. Some are worried Obama will seek to further ease deportations for some already in the U.S. — though the president has requested additional authority to speed up deportations for minors caught crossing the border.